


I Love You A-Latte

by asstheist



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:00:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3341111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asstheist/pseuds/asstheist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s all so cliche. He’s the new barista at Dean’s favorite café. Tatted, of course. Strong arms, tanned skin, dark hair. Coffee colored hair. And then his eyes. Blue, blue eyes, and voice as deep and comforting as the coffee he makes. Cas, is what his name tag reads. Dean likes it. Likes him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Love You A-Latte

It’s all so cliche. He’s the new barista at Dean’s favorite café. Tatted, of course. Strong arms, tanned skin, dark hair. Coffee colored hair. And then his eyes. Blue, blue eyes, and voice as deep and comforting as the coffee he makes. _Cas,_ is what his name tag reads. Dean likes it. Likes him. 

And so he comes back. More often than before. 7:48 on the dot, every morning, orders a coffee, black, and sometimes a croissant, and is out the door again by 8. It doesn’t take Cas long to recognize Dean every morning, and before long he has Dean’s croissant wrapped in translucent paper and his coffee, black, sitting behind the cash register every morning a minute before the bell above the door tinkles lightly to signal the arrival of a new customer and Dean saunters in with a charming smile and a wave and a “Hey, Cas.” 

And Cas says, “Good morning, Dean,” and slides Dean’s usual order across the wooden counter and tells him it’ll be $3.35, as always, and sometimes he’ll make a joke about how they ought to give Dean a special discount or something, what with him coming in here daily, and all that, and Dean will laugh and hand over his crumpled dollars and count out the exact change, before grabbing his coffee and the croissant. 

Some days, when it’s less busy, Dean will lean against the counter and sip his coffee and compliment the croissants and watch Cas as he cleans out the grounds container, or organizes the napkins, or scrubs the sink. Cas never talks much, but he appreciates the company. Dean can tell by the small smile that plays across his face as he works. 

It’s the same every morning. Until:

 

“Cas, your boyfriend’s here,” Gabriel nods at the door with a smirk, and Cas turns to reprimand him. 

“Gabe, he’s _not_ my boyfriend.”

“Well, not _yet_ ,” Gabriel says, and waggles his eyebrows before slipping into the back room to sort the fresh shipment of tea. Cas turns with a sigh.

Dean strides confidently up to the cash register. “Hey, Cas,” He’s all smiles and sparkling green eyes, leather jacket and the faint smell of motor oil. Cas smiles. The coffee machine whirrs quietly behind him. 

“Hello, Dean,” He grabs Dean’s order and slides it across the wooden counter. “3.35, as alway —”

Dean stops Cas with a hand on top of his coffee. “Actually, I wanted something different today.”

Cas nods. “My apologies. I”ll just —“ Cas takes the coffee and the croissant and slides it back behind the cash register — perhaps Gabriel will want it later — then looks up at Dean again. 

“What would you like?”

Dean leans against the counter. “I was wondering — what time do you get off work?”

Cas grins. And it’s a date. 

 

* * *

 

7 o’ clock, Dean shows up at the café, dressed in nice, dark jeans and a Henley underneath his leather jacket. He looks nice, and Cas tells him so, before asking Dean where they’re going. He just shakes his head and lifts an eyebrow mysteriously. “You’ll see.” 

Cas spends the whole ride there trying to pry the answer out of Dean. “Movie?”

“Dude, no. Much better.”

“Hmm, okay. Bowling?”

“Hate it. No.”

“Aquarium?”

“Aquariums are for fourth-grade field trips, not dates.”

“They are not! Underwater life is fascinating—“

“Dude, it’s not an aquarium.”

“Okay, okay,” Cas stares out the window for inspiration. He catches sight of a _Turner’s Ice Rink_ sign glowing fluorescent across the road and asks, “Iceskating?”

Dean slaps the steering wheel. “Dammit, man! It was supposed to be a surprise!” He’s laughing though, as he turns into the parking lot of the rink. Dean pulls out an extra pair of gloves and a scarf, offering them to Cas, who pulls out his own pair from his jacket with a smile. “You did say to dress warm.” 

The rink is nearly deserted, just one other young couple sitting side by side on a bench near the back, but it looks like they’re leaving. Cas plops right down on the bench in front of them, pulling on the skates they rented like he’s done it a million times. He expertly laces them through, finishing with a bow. Beside him, Dean is still fumbling with pulling his laces through the holes. Cas laughs, then kneels down in front of him. “Let me help you.” 

“What are you, a professional ice skater?” 

Cas chuckles, tightening the laces. “Hardly. However, I did go through a figure skating phase during high school. I suppose I know a thing or two.”

“Great. First date, and already I’m going to make a fool out of myself.”

Cas stands and offers his hand to Dean, pulls him up off the bench. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right beside you the whole time. And if you fall, I can catch you.” He pulls Dean towards the rink with a smile, and Dean blushes. 

As it turns out, Cas didn’t need gloves, because Dean’s hand holding his is more than enough to keep him warm. Dean is nervous on the ice at first, gripping Cas’s arm like he’ll fall off the edge of the Earth if he lets go, but Cas shows Dean a few tricks to keep his balance. 

“Keep your feet _under_ you Dean, like this,” Cas lets go of Dean’s hand and skates a few yards away to show him. Dean wobbles for a moment, but after a few seconds of flailing his arms, he straightens up. “Oh. That was easy.” Just then, the lights illuminating the rink shut off. 

Dean checks his watch. “Shit, it’s closing time already. Guess we should head out.” He holds out his hand, and Cas reaches for it in the dark, pulling himself towards Dean.

Back in the warmth of Dean’s car, Cas leans his head against Dean’s shoulder. “You smell like a chai latte,” he says, ruffling Cas’s hair. Cas tilts his head up to meet Dean’s eyes, then leans forward gently and kisses him softly, pulling Dean towards him for a moment and then pulling away. “What do I taste like?” he asks with a smirk. 

Dean licks his lips. “I think espresso, but I might have to try again.” He grips the front of Cas’s shirt and pulls him forwards. “Just to make sure, you know.” Cas climbs across the car to Dean’s side, grinning when he straddles his lap. Dean feels giddy, giggly, like a high school boy kissing his girlfriend for the first time. Cas is all over him, hands in Dean’s caramel color hair while he kisses him, running his fingers down Dean’s sides. 

“Definitely espresso,” Dean murmurs.  

Cas hums. “Speaking of espresso, what do you think about going back to the shop and grabbing some? Decaf, of course, because consuming caffeine after 2 PM will keep you up all —“

“Are you always thinking about coffee?” 

Cas kisses Dean's forehead lightly. “I wouldn’t own a coffee shop if I wasn’t.”

Dean smiles. “Now get off me so I can drive.” 

 

* * *

The cafe is different at night. It’s quiet, in stark contrast to how Dean is used to seeing it. Cas bringing him here after hours feels special, somehow. Cas moves quietly behind the counter, messing with the machines, opening drawers, taking mugs down from a shelf above the sink. He turns around with two mugs, and tosses one to Dean, who catches it. There’s a familiar emblem on it featuring tires and smoke, and above the design, _Winchester Autoparts,_ in curly, dark blue print.

Dean nearly drops the mug in shock. “No way.”

Cas, in the middle of pouring beans into a machine, spins around. “What?”

“Where’d you get this mug?” Dean holds up the mug in question, and Cas squints at it. “Many of the mugs here were donated by frequent customers. Why?”

“Because, _Winchester Autoparts,_ that was my Dad’s old car repair shop. When I was a kid —“ Cas stops pouring the beans, and turns around to face Dean, wiping his hands on his pants. 

“When I was a kid, Dad had a shop, and I barely remember it, because we had to move, but it was right across from this, this sort of bakery type of deal, and he would send me over to get croissants and danishes and shit like that,” Dean sets the mug down on the table next to him and looks around. “I didn’t remember until just now but, I think this might be the same place.”

Cas is looking past Dean, out the window and across the street, at an old garage, at a faded sign hanging above the entrance. “I think you’re right.” He points, and Dean turns and follows Cas’s finger to the faded sign. The flaking letters have been bleached by the sun, but if Dean squints, he can clearly see — _Winchester Autoparts._ A smile stretches across his face. He turns to Cas.

“Wow.” 

“Yeah,” Cas breathes. “Wow.” Behind them, the coffee machine whirrs, and Cas remembers what they came here for. “Still want coffee?” Dean nods, slowly.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean wraps his hand around the warm mug. “Still can’t believe it. I mean, you said your dad owned the bakery, right?” Cas nods, takes a sip of his coffee. 

“We must have grown up right across from each other,” Dean says, chuckling. “It’s like, I don’t know, like — “ Dean waves his hand in the air, searching for the right word. 

“Fate,” Cas finishes, setting his steaming mug on the table between them. 

Dean looks up, at the light from a passing car playing across the planes of Cas’s face, at the steam rising from the coffee he made, at the small smile on his lips, and feels like all this is the start of something. “Yeah,” he agrees. “Like fate.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaah I had so much fun writing this!! Coffee-shop AU's are kind of my jam. (Actually, coffee-related anything is my jam lol). I do have another chapter planned out, which includes a ridiculous amount of coffee-related puns and kissing and general adorableness from these two, and I'm not sure if I'm going to post it, but I guess it all depends on the kind of feedback this gets. I hope you liked this! And comments/kudos are very welcome :-)


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